Don’t ignore the PlayBook.
I’m a bit of a BlackBerry fanboy at this point. I can’t imagine life without my Torch.
These days, I find myself most frustrated by the jabs RIM takes for not being innovative enough, or when bloggers write that RIM is struggling for mindshare or fighting an uphill battle to remain relevant. It frustrates me most because these bloggers might be tech heads, but few of them are using BlackBerrys and even fewer know just how great the new Torch really is.
I’ll reiterate: I own a brand-new iPod Touch. I know what it does and how it works. I think it’s a great device. I’ve also played with several Android phones and flavors. I even successfully rooted and manually installed Froyo on a MyTouch 3G. I’m a gadget nerd. I’m tough on my technology and I tend not to overlook a device’s shortcomings.
These days, I’m excited about the new BlackBerry PlayBook, an iPad rival I’m hoping to get my hands on pretty soon.
First thing I want to get out of the way: the name.
Bloggers say the name is too cute for a BlackBerry device…because BlackBerrys are for business rather than play. Point taken. Except my BlackBerry is filled with games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man and such. And I use it for YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and general web surfing. Plenty of playtime there. But even for the enterprise user, the name PlayBook works. It’s not random; playbooks are used by coaches and managers in sports. Unfortunately, the bloggers who take issue with the name are probably not sports fans. But the name PlayBook is pretty genius. It’s the device for the person who makes the decisions. It’s the place where the plans are kept. It’s the Bible of the sport. And, for crying out loud, have we forgotten what a terrible name iPad is?
On to the device itself:
First, RIM knows business better than anyone. And so the PlayBook will be enterprise ready, with full compatibility with BlackBerry Enterprise Server and corporate data access. All of that goes beyond what you’ll get with your iPad.
Web browsing? How about full Flash support and HTML 5? You’ll never get that on the iPad.
As for hardware, it’s got a dual-core processor and a GB of RAM. That’s more powerful than my netbook. So you’ll get real multitasking. You’ll get speed. You’ll get the experience you expect from a computer.
Multimedia: Apple loves to brag about the multimedia experience on the iPad and iPhone. Frankly, I find the interface clunky and cumbersome. Whatever RIM comes up with can’t be far off. And judging by demos and pics I’ve seen, along with using my Torch, I think users will be pleasantly surprised.
And that brings us to the most important part: Apps.
Obviously, Apple is way ahead in the app game. There are a half million apps available for the iPhone and iPad. And that’s impressive. But the good news is most of those apps — the vast majority — are utterly useless. BlackBerry App World is finally starting to grow, and I believe many iPad and iPhone developers will begin making apps for BlackBerry devices, which will level the playing field. The really good news is that the developers who’ll do that won’t be the one-off crap game developers, but the big-time developers who create truly rich apps. BlackBerry users will benefit from that. And, frankly, I’d always rather have access to 20,000 good apps than 500,000 terrible ones.
Oh…but let’s not forget: Tethering and bluetooth so you can connect to the 3G network without another data plan; video conferencing; dual HD cameras (iPad has none); HDMI output…
Bottom line: Don’t ignore the PlayBook. It may actually be the best tablet available. RIM is showing it’s not just keeping up in this space, but proving it’s still a real player. Stay tuned.
Initial impressions: iPod Touch
You may recall my iPod Touch debacle several months ago. After a little wrangling, it turns out the iPod was, after all, in need of a part Apple no longer has. So I was fortunate enough to get a nice check to put toward a brand-new iPod (or anything else I wanted).
I decided to wait for the newest iteration of the iPod touch — you know, the one with the camera, the Retina display and iOS 4. I picked one up Saturday and I’ve spent the weekend with it. My initial reactions follow…
Retina display
Obviously, this is the first and biggest thing Apple’s pushed for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Supposedly the best and most beautiful display ever on such a small device. My take? It’s okay. Yes, it’s pretty. Images are bright and sharp. But as I suspected, the Retina display is nearly unnecessary on such a small device. It doesn’t really add enough to the iPod experience to warrant the hype. Pretty, yes. Essential, no.
Camera
The dual cameras are the second biggest additions. I’ll admit it’s cool to have a camera and video camera in my pocket at all times. Problem with it is I already have both on my BlackBerry, so it becomes a bit redundant. I haven’t spent any time with the video editing capabilities, but I do a lot of video editing on the PC already. And I’m likely to continue doing so.
Facetime
First of all, I think Facetime is a great idea. If you really want to see the person you’re talking to, Facetime will let you do that. But, as we’ve grown to expect from Apple, it doesn’t integrate with other video chat applications, such as Skype. That’s a shame. I’d much rather Apple can Facetime and run a really great Skype app. I can’t use Facetime because I have no friends on iPod Touch or iPhone…that sorta renders it useless to have.
Speed
Yes, the new iPod Touch is faster and runs smoother than the old version. As always, it’s a pleasure to use on its own. There’s really not all that much to say here…we expect Apple products to work. It does. My old iPod Touch was my go-to gadget for that very reason. This one is every bit as good. But that’s really not good enough.
Bottom line
I like the iPod Touch. I really do. Over the summer, however, I learned to live without it. And I replaced the iPod Touch — at least most of it — with the BlackBerry Torch, which gives me web browsing that’s just as good, an e-mail experience that’s better, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that makes input way easier, and comparable YouTube surfing, media playback and more. Plus it makes phone calls.
The other thing I didn’t miss about the iPod? iTunes. Immediately upon plugging in the new iPod, I remembered just how much I detest the iTunes experience. Get this: On the BlackBerry, I can drag and drop files onto my media card, using the device as a drive. And they just show up where I want them. Though I can use media management software, it is not necessary. I couldn’t do a single thing on the new iPod without iTunes. And synching the apps I’d previously purchased was a nightmare — some 40 apps needed updating, and Apple wouldn’t let me download the updates without signing in with my Apple ID. Several of the apps had been removed from the app store, so I continue to be notified that they need updating, only to get another notifier that they can’t be found. And, as always, iTunes is so bloated and bulky that I’m running it on an old Windows XP machine with almost nothing else on it — it’s my iTunes machine — and iTunes brings the poor beast to its knees every time it launches.
Time will eventually tell if the iPod Touch finds its way into the same place in my daily routine that it used to have. For now, I feel the improvements are too slight to make it work the upgrade. And with the exploding smartphone market, Apple needs to step up its game if it intends to use iPod Touch as the cornerstone of its media player market.
iPhone app developers are crazy dopes
iPhone hype drives me bonkers. To listen to the tech media, one would think iPhone isn’t just the best smartphone on the market, but the ONLY smartphone out there.
Without a doubt, iPhone changed the model that BlackBerry essentially created. With the touch of a screen, the remarkably productive e-mail, contacts and calendar gadget became an all-in-one multimedia juggernaut — one capable of surfing the web, playing video, gaming, and way more. And on top of that, iPhone was sexy. So, yeah…iPhone was a game changer.
But these days, the smartphone market is catching up or surpassing iPhone. RIM has done an incredible job with BlackBerry OS6. And Android just keeps getting better and better. So why the iPhone hype? Still? The answer is apps.
I love my BlackBerry Torch. The OS improvements are slick. The browser is fast and pretty. It does more of what I want, easier. The touch screen is nice, and adding the physical keyboard makes the whole device even better. I can text an e-mail with way more confidence than on a touchscreen alone. The problem is developers aren’t creating enough apps for BlackBerry. Sure, there are plenty of business apps out there. But there are very few games. And even fewer FUN games.
Android, unfortunately, is suffering the same trouble. Not enough apps and not enough good apps.
And that doesn’t make sense.
iPhone app developers are either crazy or stupid. At this point, they’re developing for the third most popular mobile operating system. More people own Android and BlackBerry OS devices than iPhones. I know. I was surprised too. And Android continues to surge upward. Why iPhone developers haven’t fled the iOS platform already is beyond me.
On top of that, iPhone developers serve at the mercy of Apple’s almighty app censors. So many great apps are denied admission to iTunes, or killed after they’ve already been there. The beauty of BlackBerry? You can get an app from anywhere you’d like. As a developer, you can sell an app for download from your website. And what’s RIM’s take? Nothing.
So…not only do iPhone developers build for the third-largest platform, but they’re building something they may never be allowed to sell, for a lower price than they could get selling on their own.
Also, take into account the vast number of apps available in iTunes already. You will never ever ever get through them all. Ever. So these days, getting your app noticed is pure misery. It better be damned good. And it better be damned free, or close to it.
Consider this a call to all the iPhone app developers: Divert some attention to the big guys. you’ll find they’ve got good platforms, won’t screw up your ideas, and allow you to get paid whatever you want.
Torch: Best BlackBerry ever
In the past few years, the smartphone market has basically been divided into two camps: iPhones and everything else.
RIM’s dominance in the smartphone sector was primarily in the corporate world, where businesses appreciate the BlackBerry’s ability to seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Exchange. In the corporate world, BlackBerrys have been handed out for years. But the iPhone has raised the bar in terms of what consumers expect from their handheld devices. It’s not just about e-mail and text messaging anymore; it’s about web browsing, social networking and apps.
When my outdated BlackBerry Curve died over the weekend, I was heartbroken, to be sure. But I recognized early that it gave me the opportunity to upgrade. And I love new gadgets.
As an AT&T customer, I could easily go the iPhone route. I’m an iPod Touch owner and love the device. But I know enough about iOS and the iPhone interface to know that I don’t want an iPhone. I don’t particularly enjoy typing on a touch screen. And I want a device that does what I want it to do; the promise of hundreds of thousands of “apps” does not impress me if 95 percent of them are useless. I despise having to use iTunes. And, frankly, the design of iPhone 4 is just not rugged enough for me. So I decided to stick with BlackBerry.
I had my heart set on a Bold. But at the AT&T store, the Torch jumped out at me. It’s sleek and solid. It feels good in the hand. The touch screen is responsive and pretty, and the keyboard, though it has taken some getting used to, makes typing so much easier. But the best part of the Torch? The updated BlackBerry OS and the much-improved web browser.
The first thing you notice about the Torch is its familiarity. BlackBerry die-hards will be happy that, unlike the Storm, this IS a BlackBerry, through and through. It takes a matter of minutes to acquaint yourself with the ins and out of the OS and you can get started messaging and making calls immediately. I’ve read reviews that the Torch’s processor is underpowered, thus rendering the OS sluggish. I haven’t had that issue. I find the phone responsive, quick, and a real pleasure to use. The added ability to create folders for your shortcuts means more organization and less clutter. My favorite part of the BlackBerry — the integrated inbox — remains. RIM has done a better job of handling popular social networking apps, and now includes a Social Feeds feature, which integrates feeds from social networks and RSS into one central place.
The new web browser is excellent. Again, I’ve read speed complaints. But anyone familiar with BlackBerrys knows the secret to web browsing was to immediately download Opera Mini. That’s no longer necessary. The new browser supports tabbed browsing elegantly, keeping the tabs out of the way until you want them. Pages render quickly and properly. Pinch to zoom is included. I’ve found myself actually surfing the web on this device — a near impossibility with BlackBerrys of the past, even with Opera Mini. Even YouTube is a pleasure on the Torch. With just a few seconds of buffering, video renders smooth and largely uninterrupted, even on a 3G connection.
The downsides? Not all apps from your old BlackBerry will run on BlackBerry OS6. Twitter and Bing do not have supported apps yet, which means you’ll have to run UberTwitter or some other client. And Google apps run smoothly, though I’ve found I prefer Bing’s mobile app. Screen resolution could be higher, but the Torch’s screen is bright and pretty.
In all, RIM did exactly what it needed to do with this device: It stepped up the game and proved it’s still a major player in the smartphone market — one capable of creating gadgets that aren’t just good for the corporate world, but are also enjoyable for consumers. This is, without a doubt, the best BlackBerry ever.
UPDATE: A couple of other little downsides:
To unlock the Torch, one need only press a single button at the top of the device. Unfortunately, that’s a little too easy, especially if you leave the Torch holstered most of the time. It seems to come unlocked a little too often when you don’t want it to.
RIM has gone from two custom convenience buttons to one. It’s not a huge problem, but those who’ve gotten used to two buttons will be forced with a difficult choice to make.
Call quality is good…sometimes even excellent. But from time to time, there is a small tinny sound. It’s bad enough to be a bit annoying, but not a dealbreaker.
What the Apple Genius Bar taught me about customer service
I admit it: I’m addicted to my iPod Touch. I love having a tiny computer in my pocket. I love having the ability to check baseball scores, surf the net, watch YouTube videos, monitor my e-mail, plus listen to music and watch video any time I want. If I’m bored, I can fire up a game of Fruit Ninja and I’m good.
A couple of weeks ago, I awoke to find my beloved iPod dead. It wouldn’t turn on at all. The battery was at 75 percent the night before, so I was surprised, but not alarmed. I figured the battery had drained overnight. No big deal. I plugged it in to charge, took my shower, got dressed for work. But when I went to grab the iPod, it wasn’t charging. It was still dead, though now hotter than blazes from being on the charger for the past hour.
I tried charging it in the car and at work. No dice. It wouldn’t do anything. It was a brick. The computer didn’t even recognize that anything had been plugged in. Heartbroken and frantic, I went online. I googled. And googled. And I found that I wasn’t alone…the web is teeming with iPod Touch issues. And no solutions that I could find.
So I checked Apple’s website. I tried everything it suggested. Still no luck.
I’ve heard for years the talk of Apple’s legendary customer service, so I figured I’d give it a try. Maybe call someone, find out if it’s a known issue with a quick fix. But after logging in, I was informed my iPod was no longer under warranty. A phone call from a “Genius” (the supposedly know-it-all help desk folks) would cost me $29 — not to fix the problem, but for the phone call itself. That’s $30 just to talk to someone, with no guarantee that they can help at all.
No thank you. I decided to go to the local Apple store and talk to a real-live “Genius.” It’s not far from my office, so I figured I’d drop by on my way home from work. I talked to a polite young man who informed me I had two options: Wait an hour and a half for the next appointment or schedule an appointment for later. Now, all I wanted was for someone to listen to the symptoms and tell me whether it was fixable. But, alas, they wouldn’t talk to me unless I waited or scheduled an appointment. I left.
On Monday I made an appointment. I got there early, and again was met by a nice young man. As I expected, the appointment lasted fewer than five minutes. He plugged the iPod in. He shined a flashlight into the ports. He cleaned the ports and plugged it back in again. The verdict?
“It’s fried,” he said. “We can’t do anything with it.”
He told me the problem is not uncommon. And since it’s three months outside the warranty, he offered me two choices: I could buy a used one for $100 or I could buy a new one, and they’d happily give me 10 percent off.
Ten percent? My iPod Touch is the 16 gb model, which Apple no longer makes. If I buy a new one, I can get the 8 gb version for $199 or the 32 gb for $299. So I save either $20 or $30 — a small (very small) attempt to make up for a product that failed long before what I considered life expectancy. I told him I’d think it over. See…I’m not about to spend $300 on a device I know will be outdated this fall, when I expect Apple to release a new iPod Touch that comes with a camera or two and supports all the bells and whistles of the new iPhone.
I also remembered that the iPod was a gift from my parents, who wisely purchased it with an extended warranty from the store (not Apple). I made a couple of phone calls and was put in touch with a CSR. She took down some information, but couldn’t find a record of my warranty. What she said next, though, surprised me.
“I’m sending you a UPS label,” she said. “Just send the iPod in and we’ll have it back in seven to 10 days.”
“I’m sorry…what?,” I asked. “I thought you didn’t have any record that I have a warranty.”
“That’s okay,” she answered. “We’ll take your word for it.”
“So…I send it to you and you tell me what it will cost to fix it?”
“No. You send it to us and we send it back when it’s fixed.”
At that point, it seemed like my last best hope. So I mailed it in, free of charge. Four days later, it was returned. I plugged it in. It came on, charged up and worked…almost.
I noticed trouble connecting to WiFi, and the battery seemed to be draining quickly. The next day, I called a number they’d provided. They didn’t put me on with a CSR this time…they put me on with the guy who actually did the work. We chatted briefly and agreed I’ll send the iPod back. His promise? He’ll have it in perfect working order before I get it back again. But he told me a lot more than that.
He told me he’s surprised at the number of iPods he fixes after Apple Geniuses tell customers they’re beyond repair. In one such recent case, and Apple Genius told a customer they’d need a new iPod because music would only play through one side of the headphones. Corey fixed it in minutes, just by soldering the headphone jack.
So here’s what I learned about the Genius Bar: It’s a sham. Apple Geniuses aren’t really there to fix your problems. They’re certainly not real technicians who, as Apple claims, know your product inside and out. In fact, they’re the Apple equivalent of the Geek Squad. And their goal is to fix your issue by selling you something else. Sure, while I was at the Apple store, another Genius was helping an older man sync his iPod with iTunes and led him through the process. But that’s simplistic help. It isn’t the line we’ve been sold.
Apple’s customer service model is pretty easy to dissect: It’s based on marketing, not talent. Like Best Buy, Apple markets Geniuses as highly trained technicians who can help with any problem. If you’re under warranty, that’s easy — they give you a new one. If you aren’t under warranty, that’s easy too — they tell you to buy a new one. There’s nothing technical about that. But people leave the Apple store feeling content anyway. Why? Because they believe they had no choice but to spend $300 on a new iPod. A Genius told them that was the only solution.
In my case, the Genius was either lying or flat-out wrong. Not only was the iPod not fried and not beyond repair, it only needed one simple part — a battery. Apparently, that simple fix took more than a Genius to figure out.